Shadows of the Past
by iluvaang1
Summary: When Korra witnesses a sad tragedy in Republic City that brings back traumatic memories from her past she is unable to cope with these memories alone. So, Mako comforts her, helping her get through this dreadful time. Will love be enough to conquer these dark shadows of the past?


Shadows of the Past

The sun is just starting to rise, covering Republic City with its orange glow. In the midst of the city there is a tall apartment building where Korra and Mako live on the top floor. They are asleep in their small, but cozy apartment bed, fitting the two of them perfectly; his arms around her protectively and Korra holding him close, feeling safe.

The sun starts to shine, brightening their room and Mako opens his eyes, waking up to the early morning; he gets out of bed, ready to start the day. He looks at Korra, who is sleeping so peacefully and smiles, knowing that she is not going to wake up on her own. So, he gives her some help by opening the shades of the window and letting in the blinding sunlight that flies straight toward her. Korra scrunches up her face in annoyance as the sunlight hits her through the open window. She turns around to avoid the sun, and feeling the warm heat on her back she smiles. Mako rolls his eyes; he knows that she is enjoying this.

Mako walks over to the bed and shakes Korra gently. "Come on Korra, it's time to wake up."

Korra groans, pulling the blanket over her head. Mako knows she is not a morning person, he had to learn that the hard way the first time he had met her when they had to wake up early in the morning for their first Pro-Bending practice together. He got a medicine ball thrown at him, straight to the chest, causing him to fly across the room.

After that painful lesson he had learned that, since they are going to be living together, it is best not to wake her up so early. And normally he would let her sleep in, but she told him last night that she had a big council meeting that she had to wake up for, so he promised he would wake her up the same time he woke up to get ready for his job.

Mako looks at the clock, noticing that it is already almost 6:00am. He cannot be late for his job and he knows that Korra will be furious with him if he does not wake her up in time like he promised. So, out of desperation, he walks into the bathroom and fills up a bucket of water. He is not going to dump it on her, he is just hoping that, if he brings it in the room she will believe that he is going to and wake up.

Mako comes back into the room and walks up to the bedside with the bucket. "Korra, you have to wake up or I will splash this bucket of ice water on you."

Even as he says this he cannot even imagine doing something so cruel, but, as he has learned from the past, it is the only way to get Korra out of bed. She peeks through the blanket to see if he really does have the bucket of ice water and to her surprise, he does.

Korra sits up angrily, eyes wide and warns. "You wouldn't dare Mako."

Mako knows he would never do it. First of all because he loves Korra and it is just such a heartless thing to do. Second, and most importantly, because he knows that she will kill him if he does. So, he puts the bucket down and sits down on the bedside taking Korra's hand.

Mako says sincerely. "You know I would never do that to you Korra, I just had to wake you up because you have that big council meeting today."

Korra remembers that she made him promise to get her up and gets out of bed, not complaining but obviously irritated. "Fine, I'll get ready."

As she walks toward the bathroom she looks so exhausted; Mako cannot help but feel sorry for her. He always thought that his job was demanding, considering the long, unpredictable hours and all the paperwork he has to do, not to mention the dangers of being a police man and constantly putting his life on the line. But, Korra is the Avatar, the peace-bringer of the world; it is an awesome responsibility and he cannot even imagine how hard it must be when the whole world is counting on her, it is a lot of pressure and he admires her for being so strong through it all. But, he also worries about her because, even though there are people who worship the Avatar, there are also people out there who would do whatever it takes to destroy her. That is why he is so overprotective because he never knows whether she is going to come home or not. But, he knows she feels the same way about him and his job, so it is only fair that he understands she is feels the same way.

Once they are ready to go, Mako slips on his police jacket and they head for the door together, holding hands and ready to face the world. Mako looks down at Korra and she looks up at him and smiles, but behind the smile he sees that hint of desperation, that need to just escape the world for a while.

Mako stops before the door and Korra faces him. "Korra, let's face it, we both need a break from our busy lives. So, tonight after we both get home I'm going to take you somewhere very special and we are just going to relax and enjoy ourselves."

Korra smiles, a gleam of hope shinning bright in her tired eyes. "Yeah, I guess I do need a break; I would love that Mako. So, tonight at 7?"

Mako smiles. "It's a date."

With that, they both lean in and kiss; each movement so natural. They balance each other out. Their lips moving in perfect harmony, his hands around her waist and her hands around his neck, standing on her tip toes; as they kiss so passionately, they let each other know how much they love one another, Mako makes Korra feel so safe from all the dangers of being the Avatar, and Korra makes Mako feel so free from the structured world he had created for himself. They complete one another and life is so much easier, so much happier, when they have each other.

Their lips slowly start to part and they take deep breaths; both feeling this incredible ecstasy as a rush of adrenaline shoots through their veins like a cheetah horse. They look into each other's eyes longingly, never wanting this moment to end. Then, Korra starts running down the hall and Mako starts chasing her; both of them laughing so hard, it is as if they are kids again, playing a game of tag, making up for the lost childhood they both never got to have because, with Korra being the Avatar and Mako losing his parents so young, their complicated pasts never allowed them to have that magical childhood.

Once they get out the door, Mako finally catches up to Korra and grabs her by her waist, lifting her up and spinning her around while she laughs and he smiles, both of them having such a great time. He stops spinning once reality catches up with him and puts her down, she smiles at him and he smiles back at her, kissing her forehead. Then, he opens the apartment garage and gets on his motorcycle, still holding Korra's hand, not wanting to part, but knowing they will see each other again once the day is over.

Korra lets go of his hand and says smiling. "Come on, you have to go to work Cool Guy. I'll see you tonight."

Mako nods and says. "Alright. I love you."

Korra replies feeling so captivated. "I love you too."

With that Mako turns the key in the ignition and the motorcycle roars to life. He waves goodbye as the motorcycle speeds down the street and Korra waves back. Then, once Mako is out of sight, she starts walking toward City Hall, which is conveniently very close to their apartment. Mako wanted to make sure they lived very close to where Korra had to be for her Avatar duties, even if it meant he had to go further to get to the police station. Mako always puts Korra first and even though it can get annoying for her sometimes, deep down she loves it because it reminds her how much he cares.

As Korra thinks about this on her walk to City Hall she smiles and feels so content, like nothing can ruin her day. But, she immediately snaps out of her enchanted thoughts once she sees this young, defenseless girl who is getting yelled at by an intimidating and furious man in the park. He is grabbing her arm forcefully and she is desperately trying to get away but his grip is too strong, she looks so helpless.

Korra feels she has to do something, as the Avatar, she cannot just stand by and do nothing. Suddenly, the man shoves the girl to the ground, this makes something stir inside of Korra and she runs toward this man angrily, not even thinking rationally, just needing to save this vulnerable little girl.

Once Korra gets to them, the man just stares at her, anger beaming in his black eyes that are so full of hate. Korra looks down at the little girl with empathy, feeling this strong connection as she looks into those hurt green eyes desperately begging for help, but not having the courage to speak.

The man says in a cold voice. "Go away! Can't you see this is personal? Between a father and his disobedient daughter."

Korra looks up at the man furious. "I saw what you were doing to her; how can you be so cruel and heartless to your own daughter?"

The man looks at Korra with a hateful scorn, but, in the back of his mind he wonders why she would even care so much. Korra starts to feel these familiar emotions of misery, hurt, and depression rise within her as she watched the man assert his power over his daughter. She knows it is not her place to get involved, but her heart is speaking louder than her mind in this situation; this is personal.

After a moment of silent tension, the man replies yelling. "She is my daughter and I can do whatever I want to her because I own her."

As he says this, Korra feels this intense pain, like she got stabbed in the heart right then and there, but fury comes along with these conflicted feelings and all she can think to do in the moment is destroy the one causing this little girl so much pain. So, out of nowhere, Korra Firebends two fierce fire blasts at this heartless man, but he dodges them quickly and gets into a fighting stance in front of his little girl, protecting her. This surprises Korra, the fact that this man will not let anyone else hurt his daughter, but he is hurting her himself; it just does not make sense and only proves that he is sick.

Korra Earthbends a two huge boulders, holding them out by her sides, and is about to eliminate the problem from this girls life. But, as she looks into the little girl's frightened green eyes she stops to think for a moment. The girl shakes her head, begging Korra not to hurt her father, the man who has obviously caused her so much pain and suffering. So, Korra puts the rocks down in surrender, knowing deep down that it is not her place to choose whether someone lives or dies, even if she is the Avatar.

The man picks up his little girl and starts running away. Korra does not try to stop them or go after them because, even though she feels she has to set things right, she knows that is not her place to come between a struggling family based off of a first glance. For all she knows, she could have read the situation wrong. But, there is also this uncertainty because she knew deep down, that the man was beating his daughter just by the look on her face, so full of woe and desperation, a silent cry for help. This was something very familiar to Korra, it was her life.

After the situation with the little girl and her father, Korra went back to her apartment. She did not want to go to the council meeting because, after what she had witnessed, she did not want to deal with anyone or think about her Avatar responsibilities because she could not think clearly herself. The memories of her past, of being beaten and abused, start rising to the surface and she lies in bed crying hard reliving, these traumatic memories so vividly.

After what only seemed to be an hour, Korra hears the door open and knows that Mako is home. She looks up at the clock, her eyes red and her face soaked with tears, surprised that it is already 7:00pm. She had not been aware of the time all day because once she got home she had been living in the past. These dreadful memories are something she has not thought about for years, but they are starting to creep back in, slowly eating her alive.

She hears Mako yell for her. "Korra, are you ready to go?"

Korra just lies there in shock. She has never told anyone, with the exception of her parents, this horrific part of her past. Mako does know that, as the Avatar, she had to work so hard for most of her life, and she had told him how lonely that could get. But, she had never told him the story of how she was beaten and abused by her Uncle. It started happening when she was thirteen years old and continued for a month. She had loved her Uncle; he was family, which was one of the reasons she could not tell anyone. Also, her Uncle had threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone. Once she gained the courage to tell her parents she was free, she thought that the nightmare was over. But now, those memories are coming back to haunt her and it is so painful that she does not know what to do.

Mako starts to worry because Korra is not answering. He starts to assume the worst and tries to think of any possible reasons why she is not home yet so that his fears do not make him panic. He wonders if she could still be at the council meeting, but that would not make sense because that should have only taken a few hours. Mako runs upstairs to check if she is in their room. Once he gets to the door, he tries to open it, but it is locked so he knows that she is in there.

Mako asks concerned. "Korra, are you okay in there?"

Korra answers, sobbing uncontrollably. "Go away Mako, please. I just want to be alone."

Mako just stands there frozen. He wants to talk to Korra because he knows how self-harming she can be in this state. When she says she wants to be alone, it is because she does not want to admit her feelings. But, when she bottles her feelings up inside, it leads her to doing reckless things where she ends up hurting herself, physically, mentally, or both; and so Mako is going to help her get through this whether she wants his help or not.

Mako yells through the door. "Korra, I love you and I am not going to let you be alone when you need someone to talk to. Please open the door Korra; you know you will feel so much better after you talk to someone."

Korra can hear the suffering in Mako's voice. She does not want to put him through this because she knows that, because they are so close, when she is in pain, he is feeling the same if not worse. She wants to talk to him, but to reveal something about herself that she has tried to forget for so long, that she has never told anyone but her parents about just seems like it will only make things worse for the both of them. Passing the memory on to the one she loves is something she could never do. She does not want to talk about it with anyone, not even Mako, she just wants to forget.

Korra does not say a word; she just wants to shut the world out, but she knows that Mako is not going to give up on her, so she prepares herself for the moment he comes in, trying to wipe the tears from her face but it is not use, they just keep falling down. Outside the door, Mako cannot take the worry anymore, he has to know that she is okay; he needs to be the one to make her feel okay again, holding her close in his arms and protecting her from whatever fears have come to haunt her. So, Mako stands back and tries kicking the door by the lock. It does not break the first time so he kicks it again with all of his strength, motivated by his determination to get to Korra.

The door bursts open and when Mako is in, his heart breaks when he sees Korra lying in their bed, tears streaming down her face as she looks up at him, her expression so full of woe and despair. He runs up to her, and sits on the bed next to her, hugging her tightly as she cries hard into his chest. He can feel her shaking, which worries him intensely. So, he gently strokes her back, desperately hoping it will be enough to comfort her or at least make her feel like she is safe, but she only cries harder. He does not say a word; he just lets Korra get her feelings out and know that he is here for her, patiently waiting until she is ready to talk about it.

After a while, Korra finally starts to calm down. Mako can feel that her crying has become much softer as she begins to realize that she is safe in his arms. In this moment, he promises himself that he is not going to let anything happen to her and she can feel that promise, softening her heartbreak inside. She slowly starts coming back to reality, taking deep breaths and beginning to realize that the past is in the past, in this moment, everything is okay.

Korra looks up, facing Mako, looking him straight in those amber eyes so full of compassion. "Mako, there is something about my past that I have not told you, and the memories just started coming back."

Korra cannot seem to bring herself to talk about this, it is too painful. She has not faced this since she told her parents the night of the arrest, when her Uncle was taken away. After that moment, she felt free, and over the years she had been so busy with Avatar training that she eventually just thought that she had forgotten, burying her feelings deep down for so long. But, now the memories are coming back and hitting her hard.

Mako wipes falling tears from her cheeks with his thumbs and asks gently. "What happened Korra?"

Korra takes a deep breath and gains the courage she had when she told her parents about her Uncle. "One day, when I was thirteen years old, my Uncle had come over for help because he had lost everything. That was the day we took him in like the caring family we were. He was just so depressed. That was the night it all started happening…"

*_Flashback_*

The day her Uncle Kan came over he was desperately begging for help, so Korra's parents took him in because they could not stand to see a member of their own family suffer, especially since he was Korra's mother's brother and her mother is so caring; she would do anything for anyone in the family.

That day Korra and her parents gave Uncle Kan a tour of their small but cozy Southern Watertribe home to tried and make him feel better and forget about this whole situation, reminding him that he has a family who cares. But, nothing helped; he had gone from being one of the Northern Watertribes highest authorities to losing it all because of greed. Korra knew him as the happy and hilarious Uncle that she has loved for so long, but now he was so broken down and depressed that simply looking at him made her feel downcast.

Korra's family was not rich and since she had Avatar training to accomplish during the day, she would only get to see her parents at night. But, when she had heard that her Uncle was visiting and the reason why, the Order of the White Lotus made an exception because they realized that this was a family emergency. And, although she was excited to spend time with her Uncle instead of do Avatar training like she does every day, after the long day walking around her home with her depressed Uncle, and giddy parents who were trying so desperately to rise his hopeless spirits, she actually wished she would have went to training instead.

When they got home that night her parents showed Uncle Kan to his room and he sat on his small bed, sighing deeply and looking around, extremely disappointed by the small room and overall this poor lifestyle he was now forced to live. He began to feel something rise inside of him, this sick anger toward everything; his crazed blue eyes just stared into Korra's with this intense look full of pure hatred. That was when she started to worry.

Later that night, while Korra lay wide awake in her bed, her Uncle quietly crept into her room. He did not have that terrifying look of hatred, he just looked sad and Korra started to feel bad for him, so when he told her that he needed to talk to someone alone she told him she would go with him. She followed him, even though she was scared, because she was always taught to respect her elders.

Uncle Kan lead Korra to the door and she was shocked that they were going to go out into the cold weather, especially at night; but she did not question, she just followed her Uncles lead as they put their coats on and went outside. The night was freezing cold and the wind was blowing hard, as tiny snowflakes hit Korra's exposed skin like little ice daggers; it was extremely painful, but Uncle Kan did not seem to care, it is as if he had gone numb.

Finally, after what felt like hours of walking through the endless nothingness of the blizzard, they got to a small cave and Korra rushed inside, yearning for the warmth. Once Uncle Kan was in the cave, he sat down and Korra sat next to him, looking up into his hopeless eyes she started to feel depressed herself.

Finally, after a long moment of uncomfortable silence he said coldly. "The world is a cold place Korra and the only way to live a happy life is with money. But, once that is gone, you feel so angry, like you just want to kill someone."

As he said this, he was looking at her with those cold eyes so full of hatred. Korra started to get nervous, feeling this intense fear and started to panic inside. As her mind told her to run, her body would not listen. She just sat there frozen, wanting more than anything to get away, to go back home to her parents where she would be safe. But, she knew she was trapped and she could feel the danger as she waited in terror for the attack that she knew was going to come.

Suddenly, her Uncle grabbed her by the shoulders and throws her against the wall before she even had time to react. He was a big man, especially compared to Korra who was very small at age thirteen. And although he was not a bender, he was unbelievably strong. Korra hit her head against the icy wall of the cave and started feeling disoriented. She blinked multiple times to try and clear her fogged vision, but it did not help. If she could focus, she could have defended herself, after all she was the Avatar and mastering the elements. But, she was so discombobulated that she could not think straight. Plus, this situation was different, if it were a stranger doing this she would have defended herself, but the fact that it was her Uncle hurting her, her own flesh and blood, she just could not bring herself to fight back.

While Korra was up against the cave wall, using it for support in her weakened state, her Uncle runs up to her and started hitting her, hard. She screams for help, trying to block the rapid punches coming at her, but she knows that no one can hear her shrieks over the deafening wind blowing in the storm. Plus, they are so far away from home and in a cave; it would be a miracle if someone heard her.

Uncle Kan had beaten her so bad that first night that she blacked out; that is what got him to stop and realize what he was doing. At first he was shocked that he would do such a cruel thing to his niece, but the feeling of adrenaline, of intense power rushing through his veins was worth it, and he would only come back for more after that night.

The next morning, Korra had woken up in her bedroom confused. The only thing she could remember about the beating was the pain had just miraculously stopped and everything went black. She tried to convince herself that it was only a nightmare because she did not want to face the truth that her Uncle had beat her, but the bruises on her arms and legs did not lie.

After that night, her Uncle would take her to that cave and beat her on certain nights, when he was feeling really depressed during the day. After every beating he would tell Korra he loved her and that he only does this because it makes him feel so much better when she lets him do this to her. So, thinking she was helping her Uncle, she promised his she would keep this there little secret. But most of all, it was the sheer fear of losing her life that made her refuse to tell anyone; her Uncle had threatened to kill her if she told anyone. So, for the next month, she bottled her feelings up, wore long sleeves and long pants to cover the bruises. And when she had an injury she just could not cover up, like on her face, she told her parents it was from Avatar training. They believed her for a while but, as time had gone by, they were starting to notice a change in her. Their usual upbeat and fiery daughter started to become cold and detached, as if she were living in a hopeless world with no escape.

The beatings went on for a month and Korra was starting to become weak in her Avatar training, and simply not acting like herself. As days had gone by she was falling deeper into this spiraling circle of depression; she never wanted to be near anyone, hopelessly alone she would isolate herself and had this attitude where she would push everyone away, she just did not seem to care anymore. Everyone had begun to suspect that something was wrong and Korra knew they were going to question her sooner or later; she hoped sooner because she wanted to be free of this.

That was the day Korra had decided that she had enough, she was not going to continue to be abused by her Uncle just because it makes him feel better. This was ruining her life, slowly killing her inside, and she needed to end this vicious cycle before it ended her. She knew by her Uncles behavior during that day that he was going to beat her hard tonight and she did not know how much more she could take. So, before she went to bed, she ran to her parents' room crying hard and told them everything from beginning to end; she showed them the black and blue bruises covering her arms and legs and described every beating so vividly, she could remember them all so clearly, like a scar that never heals, it will always be there, a mark taking her back to the dreaded past.

Korra's parents listened to her carefully, they did not say a word, and let her explain everything. Her parents were very serious about the situation, yet heartbroken because they noticed the signs and did not take action. Although, they would ask Korra if she was alright constantly, but she would always respond with one word answers, no matter what they asked her. So, they thought it was just a teenage phase. Turns out they were wrong and they paid for it by seeing their daughter so beaten and bruised, so broken down; it was the worst punishment a parent could ever go through but they both believed they deserved nothing less.

Right after Korra had told them of the beatings, her mother was crying and hugging her tight while her father called the police. Then, he put the phone down angrily and went to confront her Uncle. Korra could hear them yelling, she could hear her Uncle aggressively pounding his fists against the walls. The yelling and the pounding was so familiar that she felt like she was in another beating, so she hugged her mother, burying her face into her chest for protection, the awful memories clouding her mind. Although she was scared stiff in that moment, she also had this great relief come over her because she knew it was all over; everything was going to be okay.

That night Korra's Uncle was arrested and while he was being taken away by the forceful police, who were disgusted by him since he beat up a young thirteen year old girl, he kept yelling that he was going to get his revenge on her. So, Korra just stood in between her parents; they had their arms around her; in that moment, Korra was feeling safe and relieved, but part of her was still worried. For some reason, she still felt this uncertainty, like her uncle was going to break out of jail somehow, someday and find her.

The next few weeks, Korra woke up every night screaming because she had nightmares of her Uncle coming back into her room and killing her slowly and painfully. The nightmares seemed so real that it took her parents at least an hour to calm her down and realize that she was safe. Every night both her parents would lie with her in bed until she fell asleep again, reassuring her that everything was going to be alright; her Uncle was gone and he was never coming back.

As time passed, Korra kept herself busy with her Avatar training and after those first few weeks, the nightmare slowly started to fade away. She was eventually able to put those horrific memories aside. Although the memories were still with her, and over the years she thought she had forgotten, but really she had only buried them down so deep inside herself that they would resurface once they were triggered. Fortunately, living such an isolated life in the Southern Watertribe, being protected because she was the Avatar, she had never witnessed anything that would trigger those dreadful memories.

*_End Flashback*_

Until today; what she had witnessed in Republic City on her way to the council meeting brought those traumatic memories, that were buried so deep, back up to the surface, and she just could not handle them.

As she told Mako the story, she could not stop crying. As she told the story she was living in the past, it all seemed so real; but she knew she was safe looking into Mako's eyes, he kept her in reality while her demons of the past tried to pull her back. His love gave her this strength and she was able to tell him everything, much like her parents love had given her the courage to tell them about her Uncle in the past.

Mako takes everything in and starts to realize that he has never seen Korra in such a fragile state, so broken down. Normally she is so strong but what happened to her is just so heartbreaking that he is not surprised something as traumatic as this could send even someone as strong willed as Korra into spiraling depression. He looks into her cerulean eyes with sympathy and holds her hand, gently stroking her knuckles with his thumb to comfort her. He does not know what to say, but he can tell that simply being there for her is enough.

Korra looks up at him with honest eyes. "Mako, I'm sorry I had to tell you that story. I thought I had let those memories go, but when I saw that little girl getting attacked by her father this morning, the memories just started flooding back in and it was as if I was 13, living that horrible tragedy all over again."

Mako is trying so hard to understand her pain, but he had never been beaten or abused by an older authority figure in his life. After his parents died it was just him and Bolin living on the streets; he had no one looking out for him, he was forced to be a parent at eight years old and he did whatever he could to keep both him and his brother alive. He did have to fight off some thugs so he understands what it is like to be beaten, but it is not the same as what Korra went through, having a member of her own family do this to her; that is the hardest pain anyone can go through.

Mako feels this intense urge to get revenge on the man who did this to Korra. It is killing him to see her this way and he hopes that her Uncle is suffering. He would kill anyone who causes her so much pain like this, but all that is left are her memories, something he cannot fight back, all he can do is be here for her and that is exactly what he intends to do, until she feels safe again.

Mako cups her face in his hand. "Korra, I am really glad you told me this. I know it was hard, but trust me, you are going to feel so much better now that you have released these feelings that you have held back for so long." With that he hugs her and says passionately. "I love you so much."

Korra replies, crying into him. "I love you too."

They both lay in each other's arms the rest of the night, not bothering to take their shoes or change out of their work clothes. In this moment, reality is gone, now they are focused on each other.

Throughout the night, Korra cries for hours and Mako holds her close, reassuring her that everything is alright. He reminds her that she is safe with him because he will protect her at any cost, constantly telling her how much he loves her and hoping that his words and letting her know that he is here for her is enough to heal her open wounds.

Although it takes a while, Korra eventually falls asleep, exhausted from the long, dreadful day. Mako does not sleep a wink because he is still extremely worried about Korra; so, all night, he watches her protectively, holding her close while she sleeps peacefully, she uses his chest as a pillow, wrapping her arms around him. Mako holds her, letting her know that he is still there. He wishes he could destroy those fears, or eliminate them from her memory, but he cannot. He has to face the truth and do whatever he can to help her get through this in the present moment because he cannot change the past, but he will do everything in his power to give her a better future.

The next morning Mako gets a call from Tenzin who was worried because Korra was not at the Council Meeting yesterday. Mako explains that she just was not feeling well, but that she is doing better so that he does not worry, he was pretty sure Tenzin bought it. Mako did not tell Tenzin the truth because he wanted Korra to decide for herself who she wanted to know about this, and he was not sure if Tenzin had already known. But, despite that, it is her story and she has the right to tell who she wants.

Mako sits on the bedside next to Korra and gently brushed the strands of hair that are stuck to her cold face with sweat away. He is relieved that she finally got some sleep, but he is still worried about her, wondering how emotionally stable she will be when she wakes up. He hopes that she is going to feel better, but traumatic memories create these emotional rollercoasters that are very unpredictable, especially when they have to do with family.

Korra slowly starts opening her eyes and looks up at Mako; a slight smile comes across her face and she takes his hand. Even though she looks exhausted, Mako can tell just by looking into her eyes that, emotionally, she is doing so much better. He feels this intense relief come over him as she hugs him. All night he had been the one holding her, but this time she held him, letting him know that she is going to be okay.

Mako asks just to make sure she is alright. "Good morning Korra, how are you feeling?"

Korra stretches and replies with confidence. "I'm doing much better. I guess it was good to talk about it because I never really had since I told my parents, I just pushed those memories aside, which, now that I think about it, was not a very healthy thing to do."

Mako wants to ask why she had not acknowledged these feelings and how long they had been haunting her, but he is cautious to do so because it could be too soon and he does not want her to step backwards after she has come so far. So, he lets Korra do the talking and listens, giving her someone to vent to that she knows will be loving and caring whether he responds with words or just listens, comforting her in the simple ways that bring up such complex feelings.

Korra seemed to be doing much better. That special night with Mako became a new memory in place of the past. It makes her feel so much better because, every time the horrid memories of her Uncle beating her try creep in, she just thinks about that night with Mako, when she felt so safe in his arms, when he told her he loved her more than anything. It was an incredible night, feelings were shared and wounds from the past were healed, not completely gone, but closed up.

Mako knows how Korra tends to bottle her true feelings up, so he asks serious. "Korra, I have to know, being completely honest, are you really feeling okay again?"

Korra thinks about this for a moment, looking deep inside herself to determine how she is truly feeling. She starts to realize that she is feeling slightly depressed deep down. But, she does not know why because Mako had helped her get through that terrible night, so she expects herself to feel better and that everything will return to normal. But, reality is not like that. The past follows you throughout your whole life like a dark shadow.

Korra answers Mako sounding hopeless. "Mako, I don't know if I'm alright. I thought that since I talked about it with you that everything was going to be back to normal and that the memories would just leave me, but they are not. They are still here and its killing me; I don't want to think about it, but every time I try not to it only gets stronger." She puts her head down in her arms, hiding herself before she can cry, but she starts sobbing. "I don't know what to do Mako; I just want this nightmare to end."

Mako hugs Korra tight, stroking her back and trying to calm her. She hugs him back, crying hard and he cannot help but worry. Mako is a strong guy, but seeing Korra like this is putting him on the verge of tears, but in this moment of weakness, Mako starts to realize that he can understand her tragedy, connecting her past to his past, both haunting them for so long. Over the long and painful years after his parents had died, he began to realize that, the past will never go away; the only thing you can do is accept it and learn to cope with it.

Mako brings Korra to face him and says serious. "Korra, I know exactly how you are feeling. After my parents died, that was something I could never forget. I still haven't forgotten, but I have learned to be strong. I've realized that, even if the horrible memories will never go away, new ones are being made. The past will always be here, for both of us, like a scar. But, if we learn to accept it and focus on the wonderful life we have together now, we will be happy."

Korra looks at Mako surprised; for being such a cool, laid back guy who does not say much, she never knew he could be so insightful. She understands what he is saying, and she starts to realize that even though Mako and her both have traumatic memories from the past; they are able to get through the hard times together.

The past is a shadow and they have to accept that it will always be there by learning to focus on the present. Looking at the positives, they have both begun to realize every event in the past had created the present, and every present moment is creating their future. All those moments of pain and suffering were worth it if they end up together because of them. But, with new memories created there will be shadows, but there will be light too; everything in balance is a life worth living, and Mako and Korra have found each other, creating the perfect balance in their lives.

They look into each other's eyes and know, from this moment on that everything is going to be alright, as long as they have each other. Love will keep them balanced and moving on through this crazy thing called life. Yin and Yang, Fire and Water, they were made to balance each other out and, even though they know that life will never be a straight line, they do know one thing is for sure, they were meant for each other and that is one thing they both got right in life, one thing they will never regret; a bright light to cast over their dark shadows of their past: love.

The End.


End file.
